Chris Martin Covers Drake and Beatles At Surprise Benefit Show

(Radio.com) Coldplay frontman Chris Martin surprised New Yorkers at the Mercury Lounge with a last-minute benefit for Manhattan homeless shelter, The Bowery Mission.

James Winans of the Bowery Mission told Radio.com that "Chris literally conceived of that concert at 3 pm while visiting The Bowery Mission that afternoon, and the doors opened six hours later at 9 pm at the Mercury Lounge."

Martin delivered a few Coldplay singalong tunes, like 'Fix You," 'Yellow," 'A Sky Full Of Stars," but he also covered Drake's 'Hotline Bling," the Beatles' 'Yesterday," and the late Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah."

It was a solo acoustic show until about halfway through when some of the guys from the mission joined him; Martin's new "bandmates" had a very direct connection to the cause: James Macklin and Ron Nelson both received critical help from The Bowery Mission as they recovered from homelessness and addiction — Macklin in the 1980s and Nelson in recent years. Read more and check out some fan filmed footage here.

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